Marketing | featured news

If you feel online video is just another over hyped, passing fad, think again. In fact, online video is gaining strength as a source for content marketing. Take a peek at some pertinent data from the B2B Demand Generation Benchmark Survey for 2012. This is just one of the survey topics: Percentage of Marketers Using Each Content or Offer.

Many businesses are using gamification to get people hooked on their products and services — and it is working, thanks to smartphones and the Internet.

Some people might give you the shirt off their back for free. Others might give you their last name -- for a fee... The bidding ended December 13 on Sadler's website -- buymylastname.com -- and the winning bidder will pay $45,500 for Sadler to change his name to Jason Headsets.com.

Joel Ewanick, the agent of change brought in by General Motors just over two years ago to shake up its moribund marketing operations, has unexpectedly resigned... One source indicated that it was only decided hours before a press release finally went out that Ewanick’s departure would be described as a “voluntary” resignation. That, said several observers, raises questions about whether there was more behind the departure than simply a disagreement over policy.

Microsoft cut some advertising and marketing jobs on Wednesday, the company confirmed to the Wall Street Journal. "I can confirm that there were job eliminations today at Microsoft," a company spokeswoman told the WSJ via email.

J.C. Penney Co.’s transformation team started to unravel on Monday. Penney president Michael Francis was fired after only eight months as the No. 2 executive at the Plano-based department store chain. Francis’ abrupt departure appears to be another corrective step from CEO Ron Johnson, who recently acknowledged that Penney’s marketing message has confused shoppers.

Salesforce.com agreed to acquire Buddy Media in a deal worth as much as $745 million, continuing its rapid expansion into social-media marketing. Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff said the deal will help the company keep up with demand as the online marketing business matures. Chief marketing officers are expected to outpace chief information officers in directing technology spending within the next five years, according to a recent report by industry researcher Gartner.

The settlement is the largest yet in a wave of cases brought against pharmaceutical companies for illegal marketing of drugs.